Fair Hair & Brass Teapots
by Scribble Scrawl
Summary: Louise Francoise La Blanc de La Valliere wished for a powerful familiar. In return, she obtains a familiar with the power to grant wishes. A being of phenomenal cosmic power under the command of a short-tempered noble girl might not sound like a good idea, but that's because it isn't.
1. Chapter 1

Louise slumped over her desk, cheek pressed heavily into the polished wood, as she had since retiring to her room. Her long strawberry-blonde hair covered half her face as it draped across the desk on it's way towards the ground, leaving only one of her hazel eyes visible. Not far from her face, emitting a soft blue light in the dim room, was the focus of the hateful glare in her eye.

The object was brass and looked much like a squat, elongated teapot. Even in the dim light the brass was obviously tarnished and it hadn't been used as a teapot or anything else in some time. The source of the blue glow was the runes that circled the lid, so tightly carved that it was hard to tell where they began and where they ended. It was these runes that the young girl was glaring at with such fury.

Suddenly her expression of passive anger twisted into one of active anger, donning a snarl as she pushed herself upright. Slamming one hand on the desk with a loud thud, she lashed out with the other to strike the teapot. A dull thunk of flesh on metal rang out as the teapot soared through the air, striking the wall with a clang and tumbling to the floor with a clunk. The small girl winced, rubbing her hand tenderly, shooting the teapot a nasty look for the inconvenience.

A small clink of brass sounded through the room, causing it's sole occupant to blink in surprise. The sound rang out twice more, in rapid succession, and the expression of anger on the girl's face was replaced with one of curiosity. She pushed her chair back and stood, walking the few steps to where the teapot lay on it's side. Reaching down to grasp the handle, her fingers brushed against the tarnished brass. Suddenly the teapot jerked itself upright, a constant clinking and clanking sound filling the room as blue smoke spewed from the spout.

Louise let out a startled yelp, stumbling backwards. The seat of her chair jabbed her right in the back of the knees, sending her tumbling off balance into it. Both her and the chair went backwards with a crash, the girl laying sprawled and dazed on her back. Shaking her head to clear it, she flopped out of the chair and onto the floor with a petite grunt. Scrambling to her knees, she used the overturned chair as a vantage point to safely watch the still-spewing-smoke teapot.

The blue smoke stopped coming out of the teapot and hovered like a massive cloud. After a moment it began to shape itself. A head formed first, then a wide torso that tapered into a slender waist, and finally a pair of thick arms. Instead of legs, below its waist was a smokey tail that connected to the spout of the strange teapot. The changes didn't stop there, as before the girl's wide eyes it began to take on detailed features.

From the otherwise bald head sprouted a ponytail of hair, bound by a small brass ring. Thick eyebrows. A pair of gigantic white eyes, with almost comically small black pupils staring out from them. A hooked, beak-like nose. A wide mouth with thin, nearly nonexistent lips. A well-trimmed beard that ran the length of it's impressively wide jaw, curling into a swirl off the tip of it's large chin. Last to form were a pair of large pointed ears, both bearing a brass earring.

The rest was far less detailed than the head. The torso was wide, like that of an extremely strong man, but lacked any hint of musculature or bone structure. Around the wrists of it's meaty arms it wore a pair of brass bracelets, each bearing the same glowing blue runes as the lid of the teapot. In the same fashion as well, as they wrapped around each bracelet so tightly one couldn't tell which rune was the first and which rune was the last. It's hands were huge and bore only three fingers and a thumb instead of four. Around the waist was a red wrap, like a wide cloth belt. Below that was the tail, as smoke-like as before, still leading into the spout of the teapot.

"Ten thousand years and this is the wake up call I get?" The being spoke suddenly, crossing it's arms across it's chest and looking down at the girl before it in a displeased manner. Louise flinched as the deep rumble of it's voice washed over her, and she ducked further behind the chair.

Several moments passed in silence, the two simply staring at each other. The girl was the first to act. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, before reopening them and standing up from her hiding place. Walking over to stand directly before the large blue creature, she raised her head to look up into it's eyes directly. It raised an eyebrow at her display, but the girl refused to show any sign of her earlier fear. Her back was straight, arms at her sides, and her expression was carefully forced into a mask of calm collectedness.

"I am Louise Francoise La Blanc de La Valliere!" The small girl introduced herself. Her tone was proud, and her voice didn't waver in the slightest. "I have summoned and contracted you and your teapot to be my familiar."

The being seemed to regard her for a moment, before a wide toothy grin broke out on it's face. It's teeth were a brilliant white, nearly glowing in the dim light.

"A teapot, she says!" It waggled a finger in the girl's face like one would to chastise a child, the voice jovial and no longer holding the intimidating rumble. Her hands balled into fists at the action, but before she could give voice to her objection it continued. "This is no mere 'teapot', this is The Lamp! Which makes me…"

It trailed off, giving a grand sweep of it's arm. From nowhere a large set of letters made of light had appeared against the wall behind it. Arrows of light were pointed at the being itself, and the bright text above it were the words it spoke next. "The Genie Of The Lamp!"

Several silent moments passed, Louise gaping at the display. The 'Genie' seemed content to let her soak the information in, holding it's pose. Eventually she composed herself, clearing her throat before speaking.

"Is a genie some kind of wind spirit?"

As soon as the words had left her lips, the lights behind the genie spluttered out with a crackling sound. Left behind were strange glass tubes, and all the arrows fell askew. The genie slumped slightly, giving a sad shake of it's head.

"Yeesh, a guy goes to sleep in his lamp in a cave for a few thousand years and nobody remembers who he is." The Genie muttered to itself. The self-pitying expression was replaced with a determined one, and it cracked its fingers together. The sound was far louder than it had any right to be and when it pulled it's hands apart the digits had been twisted and mangled. The creature just frowned and gave it's hands a brief shake. Somehow the flurry of movement restored it's digits to normal, and it gave the girl a confident grin. "In that case, let me let you in on just what kind of jackpot you've struck here, Lou!"

'Lou' blinked at the sudden nickname, and the being paused in thought as it started mumbling to itself once more while stroking the swirl of it's beard.

"Can I call you Lou? Or Ise? Maybe Fran or Coise? Bla sounds like someone who had a few too many drinks. Nc is a bit too hard on the throat if you ask me. Val has a nice ring to it. How about it, Val?"

Louise's face flushed at the various suggested nicknames. Her expression flickered between outrage and embarrassment, but she calmed herself with a deep breath.

"You… May call me Val, but only if you refer to me as Mistress or Master Val, understood?" The young noble demanded once she had regained her cool.

With a snap of it's fingers the genie was suddenly dressed in a rather fine, butler-appropriate suit. As well as suddenly having legs and no longer being visibly linked to the lamp. Once she managed to get over the shock of the display of strange magic, she eyed the outfit with approval. With a sweep of it's arm, it gave a proper and surprisingly graceful bow. "Very well, Mistress Val."

Standing upright and taking on a cultured tone, it resumed it's derailed explanation on just what a 'Genie' was.

"A Genie of the Lamp has the power to grant three wishes to whoever holds the lamp." It paused, inclining it's head towards the lamp at it's feet. It stayed silent for a moment, it's brow furrowed in concentration. "Normally. Your own magic has bound the lamp to you, Mistress. In turn, I have been bound to you through the lamp. I am… Unsure exactly how the rules of the lamp have been changed. The runes want to say one thing, but the lamp insists another. They seem to be arguing quite heatedly, and using language that I can scarce repeat before a lady such as yourself. We shall have to wait for them to finish their argument before I can inform you exactly what the new rules are."

The girl simply tilted her head, her face screwed up in confusion. Eventually she gave a frustrated sigh at the vague, unhelpful explanation and dismissed the oddities it had mentioned. A twinkle of curiosity was in her gaze though, as she looked between the lamp and it's runes, and the Genie's bracelets and their runes. After a moment, she simply put her hands on her hips and asked a question.

"Well, what can these 'wishes' of yours do?"

"Nearly anything your heart might desire, Mistress." The Genie explained with a light, gentlemanly shrug of it's shoulders. "There's only four things a wish can't do."

Here it held up a single finger. "Rule Numero Uno: No wishing for more wishes, and certainly no wishing for wishes to be fishes. Believe me, that is a catastrophe waiting to happen."

It gave a shudder at that, as if recalling some horrible memory. Louise found herself tilting her head uncomprehendingly once more. Regaining it's composure, the genie held up a second finger.

"Rule Numero Dos: I can't bring back the dead. Dead is dead. Gone. Kaput. Your soul has left the building. No extra lives, no continues. Game over. Sure, I could reanimate a body and it might look like you, and walk like you, and talk like you, but it ain't you and the results won't be pretty."

It held up it's third, and last, finger.

"Rule Numero Tres: I can't make people fall in love. Love is the greatest magic of all, and even an all powerful Genie like myself can't touch it."

Seeing as the Genie had run out of fingers on that hand, Louise flicked her eyes expectantly over to it's other hand. Instead, she widened her eyes in surprise as a fourth finger appeared from nowhere.

"Rule Numero Cuatro: I can't kill anyone. Trick, scare, imprison, maim, transform, you name it. I can do anything you like to anyone except kill them. If wishes could be used to kill people the whole planet would probably have gone kaboom ages ago."

Louise processed the information with an expression torn between bewilderment and doubt. She opened and closed her mouth several times, frowning, before she finally managed to get her question out.

"So I… I could ask you to cure an illness, no matter what it was? Even if nobody knew what it was or how to cure it?"

The Genie tilted it's head at the question and suddenly it was holding a very large magnifying glass, a massively magnified eyeball peering down at the girl. The tiny noble reeled back from the sight, glaring up at her familiar once she recovered from the shock.

"Don't do that!" She snapped with a huff, eliciting an amused chuckle from the Genie as the magnifying glass vanished in a puff of blue smoke.

"You don't look sick to me, Mistress Val." It noted questioningly.

"I'm not, but one of my sister's is." She explained, a twinkle of understanding lighting up in the Genie's eyes. The girl frowned, seeming lost in thought for a moment, before speaking up again. "How do I make the wish?"

"Simply say 'I wish' and then what you want to wish!" The Genie gave a boisterous laugh at the question, the girl simply staring at it in disbelief at it's answer. After a moment she steeled her expression, clearing her throat and speaking in the same regal tone she had used when introducing herself.

"I wish that my sister, Cattleya Yvette La Baume Le Blanc de La Fontaine, was now and forever more the picture of perfect health!"

"Wowee, is that a mouth full of a name!" The Genie whistled in appreciation, and rolled up the sleeves of its butler uniform. Forming a box with it's fingers and thumbs, it stuck it's tongue out in concentration as it took aim. The girl was about to impatiently ask what it was doing when it declared a mumbled 'gotcha!' before pointing it's index finger, thumb pointed upward, at her open window. A bolt of blue shot from the tip of its finger, rocketing out the window and sharply turning upward into the night sky.

The girl let out a gasp of surprise, rushing over to the window and thrusting her head out to watch. The spell nearly hit a blue dragon that was soaring up above the academy, the dragon letting out a surprised cry and nearly unseating it's rider in the process. The bolt of blue went on uninterrupted however, brightly lit against the stars and moons.

"Sorry, Tabitha!" Louise shouted apologetically, her face bright red. The dragon-riding girl didn't pay her any mind, eyes locked firmly on the strange magic as it vanished off into the distance. Giving a sigh, Louise pulled her head back inside and turned to her familiar once more.

"How do I know if the wish worked?" Louise questioned, a note of hesitation and worry in her voice.

The Genie put a hand to it's chin, making a loud thoughtful humming sound. A strange glass bulb appeared over it's head, a simple metal chain dangling from it, which it pulled with it's free hand. Instantly light flooded the room. Plucking the light-emitting bulb from it's space floating over it's head, the Genie twisted a strange metal part at the bottom. The bulb grew to a great size, as large as Louise's head, and the Genie 'set' it down in midair in front of her face. The girl winced at the bright light, raising her hands to shield her eyes. The Genie motioned for her to stare into it, and she reluctantly squinted between the gaps in her fingers into the glowing glass orb.

"Gaze into my crystal ball and see!" The Genie waved it's hands back and forth across the surface of the glowing globe, now wearing a long robe and an absurdly floppy wide-brimmed hat. Louise opened her mouth to comment on the lack of anything to 'see' when an image began to form, and she closed her mouth to watch.

The youngest Valliere daughter saw her sister's room, and her sister herself asleep in her bed. From the viewpoint the globe was showing she could see the window and the night sky beyond as well. After a few moments of nothing happening, a small blue light streaked towards the window. The light slammed into the glass, jittering back and forth in midair as if it was dazed. The light hovered there for a moment, giving a shudder and a 'hop' before rearing back and diving towards the crack between the window and the frame. Blue light seeped through the crack and into the room, slowly growing brighter as the spell worked it's way inside. Finally, like a cork popping free of a bottle of wine, the light shot from the window and slammed into the rooms sleeping occupant. A dim blue glow enveloped the sickly girl, lasting for several moments. As the dim glow faded, the subtle signs of sickness that marked the young woman had been replaced with the subtle signs of good health.

The spells work done, the image in the globe vanished. The light vanished soon after as the globe exploded into blue smoke, leaving Louise blinking rapidly in confusion as her eyes were forced to adjust to the sudden change in light. She rubbed at her eyes for a moment, making a face as they finally allowed her to see her familiar floating in front of her once more. The hat and robes had been replaced with the butler's uniform once more, and the Genie had a thoughtful look on it's face.

"Your sis looks a lot like you, Mistress Val." The Genie noted cheerfully, making Louise blink at the mundaneness of the observation.

"Yes, we both look a lot like our mother. We have another sister, but she…" Louise trailed off, blinking. Whirling around and walking quickly to her desk, she scrambled to find parchment and a quill. Watching her search frantically with an amused look on it's face, the Genie cleared its throat to get her attention. When it did, the young noble blinked in surprise at the sight of the conjured quill, parchment, and inkwell.

"Allow me, Mistress Val." It offered simply, and a small, pleased smile formed on Louise's face.

"How resourceful, familiar." The noble complimented before frowning in contemplation for a few moments. Nodding resolutely, she began to dictate to the waiting Genie. The usual formalities were addressed, Louise reciting them mechanically until she finally reached the true purpose of the letter and her tone took on an increasingly excited quality. "I successfully summoned and contracted a familiar of great magical power. At first it seemed to be no more than a teapot, or a Lamp as I have been informed by my familiar. However, it revealed its true nature to me that night. It has described itself as a 'Genie of the Lamp'. As I mentioned, it has great magical power. Though it expressed some confusion as to how it will perform as a familiar, it describes it's services as the granting of 'wishes'. Of course the first thing to come to mind was the illness that plagued my dear elder sister, and so it was the subject of my first 'wish'. How could I, in good conscience, do otherwise and still have any pride in myself as both a sister and a member of our distinguished family? In any case, I send this letter both to inform of my success and the nature of my familiar, as well as to inquire on the success of the 'wish' performed by my familiar. I have not yet determined my element nor the meaning of my familiar's runes. For the former, I suspect it to be Wind or perhaps Fire thanks to the strange, cloud-or-smoke-like nature of my 'Genie' familiar. As to the latter, Professor Colbert has assured me he will research the matter personally in order to deliver an answer. Dutifully yours, Louise Francoise La Blanc de La Valliere."

As she finished the Genie admired it's work for a moment, rolling the parchment up with a flick of it's wrist.

"Now just to have a courier send it." Louise considered out loud, a frown on her face. "It won't get there for awhile, so Cattleya's health should already have been discovered by then."

"I could simply send it there myself, Mistress Val." The Genie offered, an amused twinkle in it's eye.

The young noble stopped, blinking, and slowly smacked herself in the forehead.

"Of course you could." She muttered to herself in irritation, before nodding sharply. "Send the letter then, familiar."

The Genie simply flourished the letter between both hands, and smashed them together. Rather than crumple, the letter simply vanished in a puff of blue smoke.

"Voila, letter delivered! Thank you for using Genie Express. All deliveries guaranteed to be there before you can say 'Methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylarginyl...'"

Louise blinked at the 'word' her familiar had started reciting. First a minute passed, then five, then ten. The Genie showed no sign of stopping or slowing down it's recital of the incredibly long, complicated word. The strawberry-blonde simply sat there and listened, caught in some inexplicable hold that prevented her from interrupting or really moving much at all.

By the time a half hour had passed her eyes had crossed. When an entire hour had gone by, her eyes had glazed over. At two, she had started to drool on herself. Three, she had started turning an odd shade of blue that suggested she had stopped breathing at some point. Finally, at three hours and thirty-three minutes, the Genie finished it's sentence.

"... isoleucine!" The Genie declared as it jabbed a finger skyward, the first rays of sunlight shining in through the window as the sun began to rise. It blinked as it noticed the comatose state of the girl standing before it, tilting its head in confusion.

With the dronning recital of the strange, unholy word no longer going, Louise stirred to life once more. Twitching, she hastily wiped away the stray drool and jabbed a finger at her familiar.

"What kind of word is that! And of course you could do something before anyone could say that! Who could even say such a long, nonsensical word like that?" She shrieked, glaring daggers at the gigantic blue creature that had somehow reduced her to a coma until sunrise simply by talking.

The Genie simply shrugged helplessly. "I don't make up words, Mistress Val, I just say them."

The response only served to infuriate Louise more as she snapped a retort back with a barely-restrained yell. "I don't care who made up that word! I hereby forbid you to ever utter it ever again, understood?"

The Genie looked utterly confused as to what the problem was, but bowed all the same. "As you wish."

With the unholy word banned, the strawberry-blonde girl started taking slow, deep breaths to calm herself down.

"As weird as you are, Familiar, at least you're obedient." She muttered under her breath.

"The lamp and runes agree on that much, at least." The Genie shrugged, unphased by the girl's outburst or commentary. The twinkle in its eye suggested it found the situation amusing and adorable, if anything.

The Noble girl pursed her lips at that, asking the question that brought to mind. "You said something like that before. What do you mean?"

The Genie twirled the swirl of its beard thoughtfully for a moment before answering. "I don't think anyone's really asked me how it works before. Well, I got all the mumbo jumbo, but the lamp is the one that calls the shots. The runes though, they don't like a lot of the limits and rules the lamp has going on. See, they want me to be able to use as much of my power as possible - and believe me, Mistress Val, I have a phenomenal amount of power - so that I can serve you to the best of my ability."

Louise processed the explanation for a moment, her eyes flicking from the lamp and it's runes to the bracelets her genie wore and the matching runes carved into them.

"I did wonder why the runes would appear on the lamp and your bracelets, but not on you yourself." She admitted with curiosity, pursing her lips in thought. "So does that make you a… Prisoner or something? How did you end up with the lamp in the first place?"

The Genie froze, blinking, at the question. Slowly, a large smile appeared on it's face as it looked down on her.

"That makes three things nobody has ever bothered to ask me before, Mistress Val." The Genie paused and looked contemplative for a moment, before sighing. "I am indeed a prisoner of the lamp. For all my power, I'm bound to it. I must obey whoever holds the lamp, though the runes are making a strong argument against that rule, and grant them three wishes. Only my master can free me from the brass hunk of junk, but none have ever bothered to 'waste' a wish on little old me."

Louise's brow furrowed as a frown formed on her face.

"Is it not the place of servants to serve, though?" She questioned, not understanding the problem.

"Oh sure, but when you get down to it I'm not a servant." The Genie huffed, seeming miffed over the question. "I'm more what you might call a Slave. I might be a fun-sized jolly blue giant, but I'm definitely not stuck in that itty-bitty lamp because I want to be."

Distaste over the mention of 'slave' instantly found it's way into Louise's expression.

"As for how I got tied down to the brass ball-n-chain, well…" The Genie trailed off, and Louise found herself leaning forward in anticipation for the answer. "I forgot."

The small girl immediately lost her balance, falling on her face. Scrambling to her feet, she thrust her finger up towards the Genie's face once more.

"How do you forget something like that?"

The Genie simply scratched the side of his head, looking sheepish. "It's just been so long that I honestly can't remember ever not being bound to the lamp."

Louise let her accusatory finger go limp, a sympathetic look replacing the outrage that had been on her face moments ago.

"Well, a Familiar is meant to serve a mage for life…" Louise stated, trailing off for a moment before nodding to herself. Once more her tone changed, taking on a regal air again. "However, I, Louise Francoise La Blanc de La Valliere, swear that I shall wish for your freedom in my final years as reward for your services."

The Genie looked shocked at the declaration, a grin blossoming on it's face. Scooping her up in it's arms, it gave her a massive hug. "I'll hold you to it, Mistress Val! Besides, what's a few more decades after eons?"

"I certainly hope I live more than a few decades, familiar." Louise snapped, but there was no sharpness to her tone. Embraced by her familiar, face flushed red, the pleased smile on her face ruined her attempts at stoicism.

"Not to worry!" The Genie declared, setting her down and conjuring itself a gleaming set of armor. It brandished a sword and shield in the air, striking a heroic pose. "I shall be your faithful Knight in Shining Armor! No harm shall come to you under my vigilant protection!"

The visor to it's helmet slammed down suddenly, apparently blinding it as it stumbled around the room yelling about someone 'turning off the lights'. Composure completely shot from the sight of such a silly display, the youngest of the esteemed House Valliere was reduced to a helpless fit of giggling.


	2. Chapter 2

Cattleya lay peacefully in her bed, comfortably tucked under the covers, in the same position she had been when she fell asleep during the night. Her long, strawberry blonde hair spread across the bed around her, doing a marvelous job of imitating a blanket. A pair of hazel eyes watched as sunlight poured in through her window, a small smile on her face.

The cause of her smile was the litter of puppies scattered about her bed, snuggled against her for warmth. Another that was not a puppy was snuggled as well, a small black and white cat nestled against her chest. She flicked her eyes to the window, noting the sun's climb into the sky. She hesitated for a moment before pursing her lips together and blowing softly, a gentle whistle that she could barely hear coming forth.

Immediately ears popped up, followed by yawns and stretches, as all the puppies stirred awake. Though the cat's ear twitched, it made no effort to rouse itself. The puppies gathered at the end of the bed, tails wagging and looking a the young woman eagerly. Cupping a hand around the cat to support it, she pushed herself into a sitting position with practiced care.

"A good morning today, isn't it?" Cattleya commented to the puppies and the cat clasped to her chest, taking a moment to scratch it behind the ears and elicit a low purr of appreciation.

The young woman pushed her blankets aside and lightly brought her legs around to rest her feet on the floor. Standing upright, she cautiously put her free hand to the wall to brace herself. A moment passed and a small, relieved smile formed on her face. She lightly walked to the end of her bed, where the gathering of puppies waited, and one by one set them upon the floor.

As puppies are want to do, they immediately set about wrestling and chasing each other. Cattleya let out a small giggle, while the cat she held simply gave them a weary look. Kneeling down, darting a finger out to scratch an ear here and tickle a tummy there, the young woman again spoke to her animal companions.

"For little things that would sleep all day if they could, they certainly do not have any trouble playing." The strawberry-blonde gave a wistful sigh, bringing her hand back to scratch the cat behind the ears once more. "How fortunate they are to be puppies, don't you think?"

The cat, which was enjoying the attention, ceased purring and peered up at her. The dubious expression on it's face making it quite clear that not only did it disagree, it wondered at the mental state of it's master for saying such a thing.

"Oh hush." Cattleya teased. "You enjoy them too, no matter how much you pretend otherwise."

The cat pretended it hadn't heard her, turning it's focus to the window and watching birds bustle around outside. The master simply gave an amused shake of her head, approaching the window to deposit her familiar on a cushion set in front of it. The cat immediately settled in, flicking it's tail back and forth as it continued its bird-watching. Leaving the cat to it's fun, she set about checking the numerous potted plants that lined the walls of her room.

It took her but a moment to check on all of them, and soon enough she turned her attention to the vanity tucked away in the corner. Still clad in her nightgown, she set herself down onto the padded stool. Slender hands deftly pulled open various drawers, extracting bottles and pouches of countless shapes and sizes and colors. Briefly scanning the collected clutter once she was done, Cattleya flicked her eyes up towards her reflection.

Only to blink in surprise at what she saw. No dark rings marred her eyes, and her face was neither ashen nor flushed with the simple exertions of her morning ritual. She put a hand to her face, feeling the silky-smooth texture, then grasped a great strand of her hair to feel the same. She looked at her hand in wonder, eyes tracing down the length of her arm and widening at the sight of visible muscle tone.

Cattleya pushed herself to her feet, sending the stool toppling with a thud. She stared at her reflection, eyes wide in disbelief. Her nightgown was quickly pulled over her head and discarded, only causing her disbelief to give way to sheer astonishment. Like her arms, lean muscle that was not there before could be seen in her legs, her shoulders, her sides, and a hesitant half-turn confirmed that even her posterior was more muscular than it had been the night before.

She poked and prodded for a moment, marveling at the shocking transformation. She was not fully toned, as a knight or a laborer might be. There was a shallow layer of fat softening her form, and her expression took on an uncertain and puzzled quality. She shifted this way and that, trying to compare what she was seeing and feeling with what her memory of her appearance said.

"My figure was always… Generous, I admit." The young woman wondered aloud out of habit, though neither the cat nor the puppies paid her any mind. Beyond, of course, the puppies making off with her discarded nightgown as their newest toy. "Yet... Surely I was rather thin?"

The question went unanswered, the strawberry-blonde gently biting her lip as a surge of conflicting emotions played out across her face. Her gaze wandered back to the collection of bottles and containers cluttering the surface of her vanity. Her expression relaxed slowly, the concerns and confusion giving away to a more coherent line of thought. Something clicked, a spark of understanding lighting up in her gaze, and she swiftly brought a hand up to her face and tugged on her cheek as hard as she could.

"Ow." Cattleya quietly murmured in pain, releasing her cheek and massaging it reflexively. She lowered her hand once the pain had vanished, finding none of the redness or bruising she expected. She tilted her head for a moment, then gave an amused sigh. "I suppose Big Sister is much better at cheek pulling than I am."

Thoughtfully, the strawberry-blonde walked back to the window and scooped the bird-watching cat up in her arms once more. Pacing back and forth around her room, taking care to avoid the playing puppies now tangled in her nightgown, the young woman idly scratched the cat under the chin as she composed her thoughts. Entire minutes passed, and she finally stopped to simply hold the cat up to her face and tell it her conclusion.

"It's as if…" Her voice wavered at the attempt to put her thoughts into words, eyes welling up. "My illness simply vanished, and was never there to begin with."

Cattleya buried her face against her familiar's fur and laughed. Small giggles at first, but growing from there into chuckles and then into guffaws and so on until she was laughing louder than she could ever remember laughing before. The playing puppies took notice, gathering around her feet curiously, prompting her to plop down into a sitting position on the floor. The puppies swarmed with a relentless flurry of licks and wagging tails, her familiar purring up a storm.

The door to her bedroom was suddenly flung open, only to rebound against the wall and strike it's opener. The blonde, straight-haired, heavily mustached and bearded middle-aged man let out a surprised cry as he stumbled backwards out of sight. A similarly aged woman, strawberry-blonde hair tied up in a bun, stepped past and into the bedroom. The man followed in shortly after, hand clasped over a quickly-forming bruise on his forehead.

Cattleya quickly looked up in surprise, taking a moment to wipe the small tears of laughter out of the corners of her eyes. Despite herself, she gave a small giggle at her father's antics as he dropped down on his knees in front of her, looking for all the world like he was about to burst into tears. Much calmer, her mother came to kneel by her and gave her a critical stare. She resisted the urge to fidget and shift under the scrutiny of those hazel eyes, instead focusing on her father's amber ones.

Her mother's expression softened ever so slightly after a moment, finished in their examination of her. The older woman put a comforting hand on her head, her stoic expression giving way to a proud smile. She tried to open her mouth to explain what she had discovered, but there turned out to be no need to do so. With a small nod to the parchment held in her other hand, her mother explained their sudden arrival to her room.

"Your sister, Louise, has sent word. Magically, I assume, as the letter was found on your father's chest when we awoke." The Duchess de La Valliere paused, closing her eyes and clearing her throat for a moment before continuing. "She claims to have successfully summoned and contracted a familiar, and ordered it to use it's powerful magic to heal you of your illness."

Cattleya's eyes widened at the discovery, the source of her miraculous recovery. Seemingly unable to restrain himself any longer, her father wrapped his arms around her tightly in a hug. A hug she returned with just as much strength, her normally reserved mother even leaning in to lightly wrap her arms around the two as well.

"I knew she would do great things." The middle Valliere daughter mumbled to herself, proud that her faith in her troubled younger sister had been vindicated. She let out a small giggle as a thought came to her. "Big Sister Eleonore will be so shocked."

"We will have to send word to her." Her mother replied, a slight tinge of amusement in her tone. "Louise deserves a reward for her perseverance and effort, as well."

"Well said, Dear! Shall we visit her at the Academy in person, perhaps?" The Duke de La Valliere managed to compose himself enough to contribute his own thoughts on the subject. He opened his mouth to continue, clicking it shut for a moment and making a small 'hum' sound. After a moment, he opened his mouth again. "Dear, did your top come askew? Although I dare say your chest feels much bigger than I remember."

A ominous wind swept over the room the moment the words had left his mouth. The puppies all scrambled away and under the bed. Cattleya gave a shrill cry of embarrassment as she pulled away, taking refuge behind her bed. The cat fixed it's gaze on the Duke with a look that foretold his imminent death.

Karin the Heavy Wind simply stood up, her face a dark and stony mask. She grabbed her husband by his pointed beard, effortlessly dragging him from the room. The Duke struggled to free himself, or at least relieve the pressure on his poor facial hair. As his feet vanished around the corner of the doorframe, his wife pausing only to close the door behind them, the Valliere patriarch let out a frantic apology.

"Please, Dear, forgive your foolish husband!"

All that answered him was the thunderous sound of a hurricane.


End file.
